Building racing skills before moving up.
06-06-10, 10:00 AM
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Building racing skills before moving up.
This is my first year of road racing. I’m racing in the “C” pack in the local race series. In this slower pack, I have noticed that the pace is generally not very fast, slows way down during the climbs and the average age/weight of the other riders is significantly greater than my own. There have been successful breakaways in a few of the races I’ve done, but I’ve never tried to follow because there have been a few of my team members in the breakaway. Those team members have since advanced to the “B” pack. I am not a strong racer in that I like to be at the front or rear of the pack and I’m not yet comfortable in the middle were the benefits of drafting are greatest, and I’m lousy at timing my sprints.
I am, however, a comparatively strong rider: in club rides I’m generally among the first to summit hills, and generally end up taking a disproportionate number of pulls, particularly toward the end of a long ride. A friend of mine just joined my team after racing without a team for a while. He is similarly fit, yet inexperienced as a racer and we have been talking a little about trying to attack a hill and break away, thinking that if we can get one or two strong riders to follow, the breakaway will stick, and we’ll guarantee ourselves a finishing positions in the top 3 or 4.
It’s swell to finish well in races, but if we do that enough times, we’ll end up getting bumped up to the “B” pack where we can’t rely on having the same fitness advantage. I’m wondering if it might be better to stick with the “C” pack to continue working on my racing skills before trying to break away and get bumped up to the “B” pack, or is it just as well learning racing skills with a faster pack. Both packs are filled mostly with CAT 4/5 (there may be a few cat 3 people in the B’s), the “B” pack just moves a little faster
I am, however, a comparatively strong rider: in club rides I’m generally among the first to summit hills, and generally end up taking a disproportionate number of pulls, particularly toward the end of a long ride. A friend of mine just joined my team after racing without a team for a while. He is similarly fit, yet inexperienced as a racer and we have been talking a little about trying to attack a hill and break away, thinking that if we can get one or two strong riders to follow, the breakaway will stick, and we’ll guarantee ourselves a finishing positions in the top 3 or 4.
It’s swell to finish well in races, but if we do that enough times, we’ll end up getting bumped up to the “B” pack where we can’t rely on having the same fitness advantage. I’m wondering if it might be better to stick with the “C” pack to continue working on my racing skills before trying to break away and get bumped up to the “B” pack, or is it just as well learning racing skills with a faster pack. Both packs are filled mostly with CAT 4/5 (there may be a few cat 3 people in the B’s), the “B” pack just moves a little faster
06-06-10, 10:13 AM
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Do B's. Honestly don't care about results when you are in low ranks. Go race to get experience and fitness. The results will follow.
I've learned a lot more racing 1/2's in the past two months than I have racing 3's for the past two years
I've learned a lot more racing 1/2's in the past two months than I have racing 3's for the past two years
